This trip was planned about 8 months ago when we decided to watch the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. On the evening of March 8 we found out that the tournament was cancelled due to outbreak of Covid-19. We agonized over the decision of whether to go on the trip or not. Based on advice from our amazing doctor, info from our AirBnB host, and current travel advisories we decided to go. What could go wrong with plans to play daily tennis and sit by the pool?
When we arrived on March 11 we were feeling pretty good as we made our way to a local taqueria for dinner.
It was when we got back to our AirBnB that we realized that perhaps we had made a mistake with our travel plans. It was announced that Trump was shutting down all flights from Europe as of March 13.
The next day was torrentially rainy, which didn’t do much for our moods. Unfortunately we were inside most of the day, glued to updates about the virus. The Canadian government instituted a 14 day self isolation for those returning home from all international travel. We tried to change our flights to go home early, but jammed phone lines and chaos prevented this. Thankfully friends hooked us up with back up plans of people who were driving home from the area that we could connect with if flights were cancelled.
Buoyed with a back up plan to get home, we spent the next day exploring Joshua Tree National Park. It was a beautiful setting to help us to relax and clear our heads.
The next day was clear skies and beautiful sunshine. We enjoyed playing tennis and sitting by the pool, punctuated with making plans for our upcoming quarantine.
In the end our flights were smooth sailing. When we arrived to the nearly empty YYC we were never so happy to have landed on Canadian soil. One day, when the world has healed, we’d like to see Palm Springs again.
You focussed on the good advise that you failed to mention the bad advise from friends. Sorry, but to be fair, the time between our bad advise and good advise was less that 24 hours.